Important information

This site uses cookies to store information on your computer. By continuing to use our site, you consent to Steel Media's
privacy policy.

Steel Media websites use two types of cookie: (1) those that enable the site to function and perform as required; and (2) analytical cookies which anonymously track visitors only while using the site. If you are not happy with this use of these cookies please review our Privacy Policy to learn how they can be disabled. By disabling cookies some features of the site will not work.

Latest Articles

One sensible gauge of a platform's importance in a market is the volume of developers willing to create and release games for it.
Once that platform begins tempting previously committed developers away from rival formats, well, the game is almost up.
French studio ODenis was responsible for the Nintendo DSi game Pop Island, a cutesy capture the flag title available from the DSi Shop.
'Was' being the operative word - or rather operative tense - for ODenis is branching out to iPhone game development through Rising Board.
A wakeboard simulation set within the Pop Island universe, Rising Board involves your tilting the iPhone to manoeuvre the penguin surfer from left to right.
If you fancy…

On the one hand, the recent influx (if you can call it that) of Collectable Card Games (CCGs) and their related game-types is a boon to fans of card based gaming and those after something to play and pass around with friends. On the other hand (and this is more of a personal note) playing these sorts of games can become a bit of an obsession. Who better than tournament champions from Magic The Gathering to understand my woe and to help design Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer by Pl…

To paraphrase a movie reviewer I respect, if you’re willing to accept a film just because it’s not as terrible as the last one, then you’ve let your standards seriously slide. Sadly, what is true for the film of Transformers: Dark of the Moon also seems to carry through to the App Store game and while Electronic Arts has done a better than average job in the conversion, it fails to hold up thanks to its repetitive gameplay.
Repetition is something you’d almost…

You may already have dabbled with some freemium titles from Glu, either through the simple but effective Contract Killer, or the less violent but equally free insect farm sim Bug Village.
As of now, though, fans of free-to-play iPhone micromanagement games can take to the heavens in Glu’s latest title, Space City.
So, if you have a hankering for building restaurants, shopping malls, and suchlike in outer space, then check it out.
The social element to Space City is, of course, vastly important, with players able to visit each other’s colonies to say ‘Na-Nu Na-Nu’ from time to time.
Download Space City now on your iPhone and reach for the stars.…

By now it’s hardly worth pointing out what genre the latest release from CAVE falls under, but for those who have missed out on their earlier titles, Deathsmiles is yet another shoot’em-up title, albeit a little different from the rest of the pack.
We’ve seen their bullet-hell titles, mostly in the form of vertical shooters and in one particularly amazing case a unique adventure-game style shooter, but this one takes a little side-step as it drops the bullet-hell and…

As much as I love fighting games, there’s one series above all others that has consistently and continually remained out of my reach - The King of Fighters (KOF) series. It’s a shameful burden to bear, but while I watch people enjoy the heck out of this classic fighter I’m often reduced to relying on my button-mashing-fu. As such I’m glad I’ve got my hands on The King of Fighters-i by SNK Playmore - not because I can button mash, but because I’m gett…

We're back in business - hope you enjoy this week's wrap up!
It’s only the first week of July and the effects of June are still carrying over, what with so many great releases to choose from. As it is things are positively hectic behind the scenes for AppSpy, but lets take some time out from playing these awesome games to cover some of the important points of the last week.
First up, I hope you’re watching. While we’re unsure if this is what we can expect on iOS devices, Warm Gun by Emotional Robots is shaping up to be an intriguing multiplayer first-person shooter. What originally started out as a PC project will be coming to iOS devices as well, giving p…

Just two weeks after Daniel Blezek spilled the beans on his Bungie-authorized Marathon iPad port, the pre-Halo first-person shooter has been released today. On Bungie Day 2011! What a coincidence!
Oh yeah, and it's free.
For those who had their PC gamer blinkers on in the '90s, Marathon was a Mac-only first-person shooter trilogy, almost always compared to Doom. And though it didn't garner as much attention as Doom, it's still considered a seminal genre piece.
There's no sign of an iPhone version quite yet, but we'll keep you posted on any goss.…

Chillingo's subsidiary studio Clickgamer are without question most famous for publishing monster hit Angry Birds, yet perhaps surprisingly the feral fowl only received a 4/5 from AppSpy.
Clickgamer needn't feel too aggrieved, though, for we did later dish out a perfect 5 for their Helsing's Fire iPhone title.
Looking to emulate Helsing Fire's critical success is Torture Bunny, a somewhat sadistic game involving torture chambers, domesticated animals, and dark humour.
Drag and drop your desired instruments of pain, then sit back and watch the helpless bunny ripped asunder in all manner of ways.
You inflict this horrific / entertaining suffering across 50 levels and five separate dungeons,…

As part of parent company EA's ongoing sale, Australian developers Firemint have slashed the prices on two of their brilliant iOS games.
Real Racing, recipient of a five out of five award here on AppSpy, for one, is now a miniscule 99c.
Considering our own Damien Chiappara said, “If you love racing games, and can get over the moderate current price, then Real Racing is a great play with tons of play options and deserves a spot on your iPhone,” when the game was full price two years ago, there really is no excuse for missing out while it’s cheap.
Real Racing 2, meanwhile, is also on sale at $4.99, a sum which it’s hard to argue against considering we described it as…

As I write this Australia is yet to have the (dis?)pleasure of watching the 2011 release of Green Lantern - why we’re subjected to a two month delay is beyond my understanding, but it does provide a great opportunity to spend some time with Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters for the iOS.
At first it’s nice to see the game forgoing the expected 2D/3D brawler in favor of something slightly different as you control Hal Jordan in this 3D shooter. Better still, the less-trav…

As I consider CAPCOM’s latest Street Fighter title for iOS I can’t help but drag my eyes across the room to the two arcade sticks I have for playing the console version with my friends. While there’s a lot of fun to be had in mastering characters offline, the real magic happens when two people go head-to-head and although last year’s iOS version provided local multiplayer, players can now take their fight to a global level with STREET FIGHTER IV Volt.
In additi…

Ask and ye shall receive - it wasn’t all that long ago that Japanese iOS gamers had their hands on the latest release from Kairosoft, Pocket Academy, but now English speaking audiences can try their hands at running a high-school. Much like the other titles in the ‘Story’ series your job is to manage a company (or in this case an institution) in order to keep it growing and providing the best services in the country.
First things first though; ‘Game Dev’…

Unless it’s your first time, when you jump on to a ‘Haunted House’ ride at a carnival or fairground you know what you’re in for - usually a tightly packed rail-ride filled with cheap thrills and spooks where anticipation rather than genuine fear gets your blood pumping. Thankfully the experience is short-lived, but in Pudding Panic by kunst-stoff a poor thrill-seeking jelly is forced to live through a nightmare of 48 separate areas in the most poorly maintained…

As we noted in passing last week, French iPhone publisher Mobigame obtained the trademark in May to the term 'Edge' after a long-running dispute with notorious IP troll Tim Langdell.
Most industry observers sided with Mobigame in their copyright infringement battle with Langdell's company Edge Games, who for more than a decade seemed content to protect their right to the phrase 'Edge' rather than develop fresh titles of their own.
Well, now Langdell & Co. no longer have a trademark to aggressively defend in and out of court, they've decided to bite the bullet and produce a new game.
Oh, the shame and the horror.
The isometric puzzler EDGEBobby2, therefore, marks Edge Games's first fo…